Carton supporting and squaring carriers



July 30, 1968 L. VADAS ET AL CARTON SUPPORTING AND SQUARING CARRIERS Filed April 25. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LESLIE VADAS ROBERT W. DRAKE ATTORNEY July 30, 1968 VADAS ET AL 3,394,636

CARTON SUPPORTING AND SQUARING CARRIERS Filed April 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS LESLIE VADAS ROBERT W. DRAKE BY M 0 rromzv United States Patent 3,394,636 CARTON SUPPORTING AND SQUARING CARRIERS Leslie Vadas, Los Gates, and Robert W. Drake, San Jose,

Calif., assignors to FMC Corporation, San Jose, Calif.,

a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 545,071 6 Claims. (Cl. 93--53) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a carton forming and filling machine, a carton carrier which positively grips a carton and squares the side walls thereof.

The carton carriers of the present invention are intended for use in a carton forming and filling machine of the type disclosed in the copending application of Vadas et al., Ser. No. 461,738, which was filed on June 7, 1965, and is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

In the above-menti0ned carton forming and filling machine, flat-folded carton blanks are first unfolded into a generally square tubular form and then have their bottom closures sealed, to define vertically elongated cartons which may be quart, pint, one-third quart or one-half pint size cartons. The cartons with their top closure open are then transferred into carriers on a continuously driven conveyor and are moved past a plurality of operating stations wherein the top closures are preformed, the carton is filled, and the top closure is subsequently sealed.

In order to reliably perform the preforming, filling and top closing operations, it has been discovered that it is necessary to positively grip each carton in its carrier and also to square the upper end, or top closure of the carton. Since the material from which the cartons are made is quite resilient and tends torreturn to its fiat-folded condition, it has been noted that the carton walls which define the top closure assume a diamond-shaped condition rather than a square condition unless corrected by the application of a resisting force.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a carton carrier which positively clamps the cart-on therein and also squares the top closure of the carton.

Another object is to provide a carton carrier which engages only the lower portion of a carton for clamping the carton in the carrier and for squaring the upper end of the carton.

Another object is to provide a carton carrier having easily operated clamping and squaring means thereon which is latched in an open position when a carton is not present in the carrier and which is resiliently held in locking engagement against the carton when a carton 'is present in the carrier.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of the carton carrier of the present invention with the clamping and squaring mechanism thereof shown latched in an open position.

FIGURE 2 is a plan of the carrier with the clamping mechanism latched open and illustrating a carton therein with its top closure deflected out of the squared condition.

FIGURE 3 is a plan similar to FIGURE 2 but illustrating a carton clamped therein with the top closure held in a squared condition, said figure illustrating a carrier latching pin and a carrier unlatching pin with the spacing between the pins considered longitudinally of the conveyor being greatly foreshortened.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of a carton forming and filling machine illustrating the correct loca- See tion of the latching and unlatching pins shown in FIG- URE 3.

The carton supporting and squaring carrier 10 (FIGS. 1-4) of the present invention comprises a carton support body 12 and a clamping and squaring mechanism 14 connected to the body. The body 12 comprises a base plate 16 having three walls 18, 20 and 22 bent upwardly therefrom with outwardly flaring upper ends 18a, 20a, and 22a which aid in guiding the lower end of a carton C into the carrier 10. The end of the body 12 opposite the wall 20 is open to permit the carton to be discharged therefrom. An angle corner strap 24 is welded to the walls 20 and 22 at their upper ends to strengthen the walls 20 and 22 so as to better resist the forces exerted by the clamping mechanism 14. A pair of pins 26 are welded to the base plate 16 and extend downwardly through the pivot points of certain of the links 28 of an endless double chain transport conveyor 30 that supports a plurality of the carriers 10 at evenly spaced intervals therealong.

The clamping and squaring mechanism 14 of each carrier 10 comprises a mounting plate 40 that is welded to the lower edge of the wall 18 that includes two arcuate ears 42 and 44 which are apertured. A carton clamping arm 46 is slotted at 48 (FIG. 1) to receive ear 44 and is pivotally connected thereto by a pivot pin 50. Similarly, a latching arm 52 is slotted at 54 to receive ear 42 and is pivotally connected thereto by a pivot pin 56.

The carton clamping arm 46 includes a clamping jaw 58 which projects upwardly therefrom to a level substantially even with the upper edge of the straight portion of the wall 18. It will be understood that when quart size cartons are being handled the upper edge of the clamping jaw engages the carton at a point which is no higher than one-ninth of the total height of the carton. The jaw 58 includes an abutment 60 which engages the wall 18 to limit the counterclockwise movement of the jaw when the arm 46 is not latched and when a carton is not present in the carrier 10. The jaw also includes a clamping surface 62 which engages the corner of the carton that is disposed adjacent the open end of the wall 18. As shown in FIGURE 3, when the clamping surface 62 contacts the carton, the clamping surface is disposed in a plane that is substantially perpendicular to a line intersecting the contacted corner and the diagonally opposite corner of the carton. As indicated at 64 in FIGURE 1, the lower half of the carton clamping surface 62 is slightly beveled downwardly and away from the carton to intensify the application of force near the upper end of the clamping surface 62 of the jaw 58, and to compensate for any deformation of the carton corner due to the clamping force being applied thereto. In this way, a sufiicient clamping force will be applied to the carton to assure both the positive clamping of the carton in the carrier 10 and the proper squaring of the top closure of the carton.

In order to apply a clamping force against the carton, a compression spring 68 is disposed between a wide latch engaging portion 70 of the clamping arm 46 and an unlatching end portion 72 of the latching arm 52. The spring 68 is retained in position by retaining pins 74 and 76 that project into the opposite ends of the spring and are rigidly attached to the arms 46 and 52, respectively. It will be noted that the distance between the pivot pin 50 and retaining pin 74 which are associated with the clamping arm 46 is more than twice the distance between pin 56 and the retaining pin 76 that are actuated with the arm 52. Thus, a much greater torque is applied to the clamping arm 46 than is applied to the latching arm 52.

The latching arm 52 includes a leg 78 which crosses over the clamping arm 46 adjacent the latching engagement portion 70. The leg 78 includes a hooked end portion 80 which includes a hooking surface 82 that engages a mating surface of the latching engaging portion 70 when the clamping and squaring mechanism 14 is latched in the open position. The hooked end portion 80 also includes a pressure resisting surface 86 which engages and slides along an abutment surface 88 of the latch engaging portion 70 when the clamping arm 46 is unlatched.

As indicated in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, the carton transport conveyor 30 is continuously driven in the direction indicated by arrows A. When the carrier 10 moves around a carton feeding turret 100, cartons are deposited into each carrier and assume the position shown in FIG. 2 with the clamping and squaring mechanism 14 latched open and with the top closure of the carton in a diamondshaped condition rather than in the desired square condition. Each carrier then moves past a stationary unlatching pin 102 which is secured as by welding to a frame 104 of the carton forming and filling machine and is disposed in position to contact the unlatching end portion 72 of the latching arm 52 thereby causing the spring 68 to shift the clamping arm 46 into the position shown in FIGURE 3, thereby firmly clamping the carton C into carrier 10 and causing the end of the carton to assume the squared condition shown in FIG. 3.

Each carrier 10 retains its grip on the carton while the carton is being moved around a forming turret 106, around an idler sprocket 107, around a no-carton no-fill turret 108, around a filling turret 109, around the heating turret 110, around a top closing turret 112, around a stamping turret 114 and around an idler sprocket 116 which guides the carton between a pair of rails 118 and over a discharge conveyor 120. Immediately prior to moving the carton between the rails 118, a camming surface 121 (FIG. 3) of the clamping arm 46 engages a stationary latching pin 122 (FIGS. 3 and 4) causing the arm 46 to pivot in a clockwise direction (FIG. 3) until the latching arm 52 again latches the clamping arm 46 in the open position illustrated in FIG. 2. Continued movement of each carrier 10 by the conveyor 30 then causes the guide rails 118 to slide the carton out of the open end of the carrier 10 and deposit it on the discharge conveyor 120 for removal of the carton from the filling machine. The empty carrier with its clamping and squaring mechanism 14 latched open, moves around an idler sprocket 124 and returns to the carton feeding turret 100.

Since all the parts between the feed turret 100 and the discharge conveyor 120 form no part of the present invention except to indicate at which points the clamping and squaring mechanisms 14 are closed by the unlatching pin 102 and are opened by the latching pin 122, these parts have not been described in detail. If a more complete descritpion of these parts is desired, reference may be had to the aforementioned Vadas et al. application.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the carton supporting and squaring carriers of the present invention include a clamping and squaring mechanism which firmly clamps the cartons in the carriers and at the same time squares the upper ends thereof.

While one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

The present invention and the manner in which the same is to be used having thus been described, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A carton clamping and squaring carrier comprising means defining a carrier body having three upstanding walls and a carton discharge opening bet-ween two of said walls for supporting a carton therein in upright position; said opening being defined by end edges of two of said walls; clamping and squaring means supported by one of said walls; a carton clamping jaw included in said clamping and squaring means and movable between an inactive position spaced from one of said end edges to permit a carton to unobst-ructively enter or be discharged from said carrier body, and an active position engaging an edge of the carton which projects out of said opening and is disposed immediately adjacent said one end edge of said one wall to firmly clamp the carton in said body and to square the upper end of the carton; and means for selectively moving said jaw between said positions; said clamping and squaring means comprises a mounting plate secured to said one wall, a clamping arm pivotally supported by said mounting plate and having said clamping jaw on one end thereof, said clamping arm including a pressure resisting surface near the other end thereof, a latching arm disposed adjacent said clamping arm and pivotally supported by said mounting plate, a hook on one end of said latching arm and positioned to engage said clamping arm to latch said clamping arm in the inactive position, an abutment surface on said latching arm disposed in position to engage said pressure resisting surface of said clamping arm, and biasing means disposed between the other end of said arms for urging said other ends of said arms away from each other.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said bias. ing means is a compression spring which maintains said clamping arm selectively in its inactive or active positions until repositioned by said jaw moving means.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said carrier is mounted on a driven endless conveyor for movement along a predetermined path, and wherein said jaw moving means includes a first stationary pin disposed in the path of movement of a portion of said latching arm for releasing said clamping arm effecting movement of said jaw from the inactive to the active position, and wherein said jaw moving means includes a second stationary pin in the path of movement of a portion of said latching arm for moving said jaw from the active to the inactive position.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 and additionally comprising a driven endless conveyor that is movable along a predetermined path, a plurality of said carriers being mounted on said conveyor at even intervals therealong, a first stationary pin projecting into the path of movement of said other end portion of said latching arm for engaging and releasing said latching arm from said clamping arm thereby permitting said biasing means to urge said jaw into clamping and squaring engagement with said carton, and a second stationary pin projecting into the path of movement of said other end portion of said clamping arm for engaging and moving said clamping arm into latching engagement with said latching arm thereby releasing said jaw from the carton and latching said jaw in the inactive position.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said jaw includes a clamping surface that is perpendicular to a plane which passes through said engaged edge and through the diagonally opposite edge of the carton, and wherein the lower portion of said clamping surface is relieved to apply a major portion of the clamping force at the upper portion of said clamping surface.

6. An apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said jaw includes a clamping surface that is perpendicular to a plane which passes through said engaged edge and through the diagonally opposite edge of the carton, and wherein the lower portion of said clamping surface is relieved so as to apply a major portion of the clamping force at the upper portion of said clamping surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,248,535 7/1941 Jagenberg. 2,530,412 11/1950 Wallace. 198-179 2,762,274 9/ 1956 Kerr. 3,067,863 12/1962 Schwinger 1982l0 WILLIAM W. DYER, 1a., Primary Examiner.

WAYNE A. MORSE, 3a., Assistant Examiner. 

